Are there any songs from releases that you're critical of that you think are better than the whole, a part superior to the sum and which might make a generally bad album worth listening to anyway?

I'm pretty negative towards Priest's Demolition album - the vast majority of the record is tedious, uninspired and recycled 90s groove metal with a thin veneer of neo-Priest melodicism layered on top - but I've always felt that "Close To You" is a majestic track that calls to mind the general sound of Turbo while actually being better than most of the material on that record. I agree with a reviewer here who compared it to New Wave and it works surprisingly well, both in the context of Priest in general and especially 90s Priest, which seemed to have focused on being as Pantera-like as possible that one wouldn't have expected this song to be written during that period especially, if at all. It's so different from more typical Priest songcrafting that it stands out as being particularly memorable in the Priest discography to me, whether we're limiting the discussion to the Ripper era or including Halford in it.

Though most have a different opinion, I actually don't think Endorama is a bad album. It's different, but for what it is, it's pretty cool. This song, regardless of what you think of the rest of the album, is one of Kreator's best songs, period. It's the one that got me into the band, and one which helped grow my affinity for thrash metal.

Probably the only song the band did on the album with an actual semblance to varied songwriting, the heavy riffs are fucking crushing and the rapid Kerry king-picking is a great buildup to the doom-esque riffs. The band has always been awful but they also managed some great songs off their newest album as well.

Reverend Bizarre-The Wandering JewWhy the band felt to record those awfully long songs with such little variation compared to Crush the insects and their other work is beyond me, but the Wandering Jew is just a brooding and crushing song with spiteful lyrics and Witchfinder's vocals sounding as commanding as they should.

A few heavier riffs and Barlow's vocals save the song from the utter crapfest that the album was which was mainly ballads, and the few songs that existed were throwaway tracks themselves with little to no memorability. The main riff was one of the first I had heard from Iced earth, and still reminds me at least at that time Schaeffer hadn't lost the plot yet.

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Malignanthrone wrote:

Thing is, Suicide Silence actually are more sonically massive than a good 95% of all the death metal bands in the Archives! Not metal, sure, but definitely a lot more brutal.

Under_Starmere wrote:

Manowar aren't the Kings of Metal. They're pretenders to a throne that doesn't exist.!

Regarding Harbinger of Metal, yes, it is quite uneven though I wouldn't go so far as calling The Wandering Jew the only good song. It's got too many short intros/outros/interludes in comparison to actual song content. From the Void is just too drawn out without much actual content to it, but I'd put Strange Horizon as high as The Wandering Jew definitely. One of their oldest songs and more somber than The Wandering Jew, but the climax is even more rewarding than in The Wandering Jew. Dunkelheit I really like myself, but again, not that much content to it.

As for Slumber of Sullen Eyes, I tend to agree with the album being quite forgettable more or less, but the highlight is not Transmigration Beyond Eternities, but the title track.

Terri23 wrote:

Cathedral Fucking Spires. The only remotely memorable thing to come out of the otherwise forgetable Ripper years.

This is very true. Cathedral Spires vastly exceeds the other songs on Jugulator or Demolition in quality.

Forgot about this one, the main riff sound like a swarm of angry bees just thundering across with that rapid drumming. The album isn't so much garbage as just overlong and not as well-developed as Dechristianize.

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Malignanthrone wrote:

Thing is, Suicide Silence actually are more sonically massive than a good 95% of all the death metal bands in the Archives! Not metal, sure, but definitely a lot more brutal.

Under_Starmere wrote:

Manowar aren't the Kings of Metal. They're pretenders to a throne that doesn't exist.!

Priest's Ram It Down is an inconsistent fucking album, alternating between pretty cool (if not remarkable) speed metal numbers and boring, rockish songs in the vein of Turbo. Thus, Blood Red Skies stands as the album's centerpiece, and I'd go so far as to say that it's one of the best songs Priest ever made.

An imposing, industrialoid and dystopian epic about the eventual rise of the machines, and man's ultimate struggle against them; to fight, or die with a smoking gun in his hand. Really, that ending, where Halford belts out "You'll never take me alive!" with all of his strength, sums it up better than I ever could.

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Nochielo wrote:

Crick wrote:

Years from now, no one will remember Gandhi. They will speak only of Fenriz.

Infact I use to have a relly hot friend from there but unfurtunetly the last party we have I was really wasted and grab her ass and it cause a huge problem. Her dad (that is a marine) wants to ripp my nuts... thinks are not the same...

"Hunting High and Low" is easily the best song off of Infinite, and one of the band's all time classics. Most of the rest of the album is long, boring crap or recycled, shallow crap, but this one song rules the roost.

I will fight you. "The Hussar" is my favorite song on the album but Victory is great. It's the only Angelo Sasso album worth a damn.

Anyway, the one that always springs to mind for me is easily Framing Armageddon by Iced Earth. The album is so overblown and shitty and full of itself and dull with no good riffs and yadda yadda, but then one track from the end they just shit out this fucking awesome heavy/power metal song. Super aggressive, pummeling, with one of Ripper's better performances. The last 50 seconds are world class stuff.

Aahhh Iced Earth, what the hell happened to them? Ever since Horror Show they just haven't been able to get it right, even Dystopia wasn't all that great granted it was better than all those shit albums but still I found it lacking.

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niix wrote:

'the reason your grandmother has all those plastic sheets on her furniture is because she is probably a squirter'

I hate to perpetuate the Priest references but seeing as how I find Hellbent For Leather to be rather bland overall, I'd say that the title track qualifies for me. It's such a mind blowing anthem with incredible vocal hooks and the best guitar trade-offs ever put on an album. That said, it does have some other good songs on it.

Not THAT much heavier than the rest of the mostly-tepid music that surrounds it, but "Things" still makes up for that with its sheer, ominous atmosphere and grand scope, IMO.

You win, sir. One of my favorite Metallica songs, and one thatnobody else ever seemed to give a crap about (the same could be said about many songs off the Loads, though). Incredibly haunting, with loads of interesting stuff going on harmony- and rhythm-wise. I do actually like the best part of the aforementioned albums, and this is still a clear standout to me.

Einzige wrote:

HenryKrinkle31 wrote:

Kreator - Pandemonium (Endorama)

I pity the fool who says Endorama is a bad record. >.<

Indeed. It's not a thrash album, but does this make it bad? Not to my ears, that's for sure. Also, Tommy fucking Vetterli.

Zelkiiro wrote:

Running Wild's Victory is one of their few flops, but I'll be damned if "The Hussar" isn't an awesome tune.

I will fight you. "The Hussar" is my favorite song on the album but Victory is great. It's the only Angelo Sasso album worth a damn.

Anyway, the one that always springs to mind for me is easily Framing Armageddon by Iced Earth. The album is so overblown and shitty and full of itself and dull with no good riffs and yadda yadda, but then one track from the end they just shit out this fucking awesome heavy/power metal song. Super aggressive, pummeling, with one of Ripper's better performances. The last 50 seconds are world class stuff.

Too bad the rest of the album is so fucking bad.

I think The Brotherhood is a stronger album overall, especially with the two bonus tracks. In any case, you're forgiven for reading my mind 100% when it comes to Framing Armageddon - it's the one that popped into my mind first when I saw the thread, along with the predictable Cathedral Spires.

By_Inheritance wrote:

Veracs wrote:

Demigod - Slumber of Sullen Eyes

In what sick universe is Slumber a bad album?

Precisely. The appearance of said album in this thread was a remarkable wtf moment.

I'd say Eradication Instincts Defined and a couple of other tracks are the only ones worth my time on Death Cult Armageddon. And no, the embodiment of overrated, flash-over-substance tripe known as Progenies of the Great Apocalypse is NOT among those.

Anyway, the one that always springs to mind for me is easily Framing Armageddon by Iced Earth. The album is so overblown and shitty and full of itself and dull with no good riffs and yadda yadda, but then one track from the end they just shit out this fucking awesome heavy/power metal song. Super aggressive, pummeling, with one of Ripper's better performances. The last 50 seconds are world class stuff.

Where the Wild Things Are has always been one of my top post-AJFA songs as well, good call.

Lord of Light is a major highlight from A Matter of Life and Death for me. It is pretty dynamic with both some slower moments and some relatively fast and intense ones (basically the album's Ghost of the Navigator), has a rare-for-new-Maiden non-repetitive chorus, and when it ends it actually ENDS instead of repeating the opening melody like the vast majority of that album does. Darker lyrically as well, and since Dickinson wrote them they're not the same old horrors-of-war bullshit that Harris has been retreading since The X-Factor.

Anyway, the one that always springs to mind for me is easily Framing Armageddon by Iced Earth. The album is so overblown and shitty and full of itself and dull with no good riffs and yadda yadda, but then one track from the end they just shit out this fucking awesome heavy/power metal song. Super aggressive, pummeling, with one of Ripper's better performances. The last 50 seconds are world class stuff.

Too bad the rest of the album is so fucking bad.

Ten Thousand Strong is a better song.

And speaking of Iced Earth, The Crucible of Man is also a pretty lame album, but "Come What May" always clicked with me. It's just a satisfying, pretty epic tune. "Divide and Devour" is also solid, with a great performance from Barlow.

I don't get why so many people like Catherdral Spires so much. The last 3 minutes of "Oh no we're so tired" are so awful they completely kill whatever goodwill the previous minutes had established. The title track is the best song off of that album.

The Pilgrim is the best song from AMOLAD

There's the EP scattered throughout Fear of The Dark consisting of Be Quick or Be Dead, Afraid To Shoot Strangers, Judas Be My Guide, Wasting Love and the title track

FUCT is the best song from Overkill's From The Underground & Below

The title track is the only good song from Overnight Sensation.

From The Ashes is one of the best Gamma Ray songs ever from the lackluster LOTF II

Mountains of Might is the best song from Immortal's Blizzard Beasts.

Eyes To See, Ears To Hear from Domination

Red Baron/Blue Max from Glorious Burden (fuck Gettysburg).

finally I echo that Blood Red Skies is one of the best Priest songs ever (though I also like the Ram it Down album).

Fear Factory's Transgression albumn was almost universally panned, and it certainly lacked the riffs and lyrical themes that made previous albums so enjoyable, but when I first picked up this album, the opening track led me to believe it was going to be a blistering post-apocalyptic blizzard of riffs. How wrong I was, but how good this song is. That opening salvo actually conveys the image of a nuclear blast rather well, so kudos to the band for putting such a powerful image into music.

Future World on Pretty Maids second album with the same name is fucking AWESOME. The rest is a bunch of shitty glam crap... Ok, maybe not Needles In The Dark but it's far from the great speed metal numbers on Red Hot Heavy

Anyway, the one that always springs to mind for me is easily Framing Armageddon by Iced Earth. The album is so overblown and shitty and full of itself and dull with no good riffs and yadda yadda, but then one track from the end they just shit out this fucking awesome heavy/power metal song. Super aggressive, pummeling, with one of Ripper's better performances. The last 50 seconds are world class stuff.

Too bad the rest of the album is so fucking bad.

Agreed. And Crucible of Man is so bad, it doesn't even have one song that's worthwhile.

Also, to whoever mentioned it, I very much enjoy Something Wicked... It beats the living christ out of everything IE has done since Horror Show, or Gettysburg. I liked that one a lot, too.

I was disappointed with Enemy of God for the most part. I don't like excessively melodic metal as featured on this album, but the title track stands out as a particularly aggressive thrash metal song. It's actually one of my favorite Kreator songs, and (almost) made up for the rest of the album as far as I'm concerned

Fear Factory's Transgression albumn was almost universally panned, and it certainly lacked the riffs and lyrical themes that made previous albums so enjoyable, but when I first picked up this album, the opening track led me to believe it was going to be a blistering post-apocalyptic blizzard of riffs. How wrong I was, but how good this song is. That opening salvo actually conveys the image of a nuclear blast rather well, so kudos to the band for putting such a powerful image into music. Great lyrics too. "FEEL THE FIRESTORM INCINERATE YOU INTO ASH!"http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CQEhAVemKQ0

Hmm, I always pictured a plane hitting the twin towers with that sound at the beginning. And later on when Burton sings "So many lives, so many innocent, burn" I pictured all the people dying inside. Perhaps a reoccurring theme with Moment of Impact about the many people who jumped to their death and Controlled Demolition on Mechanize, about it being a inside job.

Whatever is the case, that song made me think I was in for a something better than Digimortal but it wasn't to be, Fahrenheit was one of the only refined and memorable tracks contained, although I felt their cover of Millennium was pretty good.